Ozil FINALLY justifying Bergkamp comparisons but injury crisis undermining Arsenal title tilt

The Gunners are joint top of the Premier League table but Arsene Wenger now has to juggle a depleted squad, while an early Champions League exit is looming large

Arsenal supporters have suffered their fair share of false dawns since the club last won the Premier League– but this year there is finally a sense that their title challenge is genuine.

Sixty thousand pairs of eyes collectively rolled on the opening day of the season when Arsene Wenger’s side slumped to a 2-0 home defeat to West Ham.

Yet the fear that the Gunners were set for another season of disappointment was premature, with the team now joint top of the Premier League table with Manchester City.

Twelve games into the campaign, Arsenal have an identical record to City having won eight of their matches, lost twice and drawn twice.

They have picked up where they left off in the second half of last season and the issue now is whether they can maintain this form over the whole course of the campaign.

A difficult period is inevitable, and that is when Arsenal will have to show the mentality of champions. FA Cup triumphs in the last two years will help but there is still a sense that this team is vulnerable when they find themselves in pressure situations.